Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Justin Fantozzi

  • NASCAR BTS: Goodyear Tires Make NASCAR Go Round

    NASCAR BTS: Goodyear Tires Make NASCAR Go Round

    Ever wonder about all those tires that make the race cars go round? This week’s NASCAR Behind the Scenes takes a look at just that, with an exclusive interview with Justin Fantozzi, Marketing Manager for Global Race Tires for Goodyear.

    “Just as the race cars have a rhythm around the track, Goodyear, the official tire supplier of NASCAR has a rhythm all its own for every race weekend,” Fantozzi said. “And this cadence is cyclical from the start of the season in Daytona to the final race to crown NASCAR’s champion in Homestead.”

    “It really all starts the race before,” Fantozzi continued. “We take what lessons we learned from the race and have meetings with the teams off-site, whether it be by phone calls or face to face, post-race on Monday or Tuesday after they have returned to the shop.”

    “Then we take that set of data and we analyze it, including lap times and what our engineers have seen at the race,” Fantozzi said. “And they we make a determination if we need to bring something new or we need to test for the next event.”

    “We take that data, analyze it and the engineers go to work back at the shop.”

    Goodyear manufactures their NASCAR race tires in Ohio and that is not only where the tires are born but where the logistics of getting them to the track begins.

    “We manufacture in Akron, Ohio and then it’s handed over to our logistics,” Fantozzi said. “We have a warehouse and we use radio frequency where every tire has an ID tag cured into the side wall.”

    “That way we can have a ‘born on’ date if you will and that is the way we know where the tire is at all times.”

    Once the tire is ‘born’, Goodyear has to get them to the race track. And that is where the fun really begins as their journey to each team and race car evolves.

    “The first thing that happens is that the load or inventory of the tires arrives at the race track,” Fantozzi said. “The radio frequency ID team will work with the mounters and the balancers to make sure that the wheels that the teams own have arrived at the race track.”

    “They match them up with the tires, mount and balance them and those are distributed to the teams.”

    Fantozzi said that most fans would be surprised to know that all of the tires are mounted by the order of the points. And it is all about parity as Goodyear ensures that no one has any tire advantage throughout the field.

    “One of the interesting parts about parity in NASCAR is that the mount order happens by points,” Fantozzi said. “So, it depends on the point order that week.”

    “We start with one set, go all the way through the field and then came back for the next set,” Fantozzi continued. “The tires are loaded at random at our warehouse and then they are mounted at random at the race track.”

    “The whole idea is parity so that there isn’t a group of tires that is different.”

    Goodyear’s job is not over, however, once the tires are mounted on the race cars. They are constantly up and down pit road during practice, qualifying and the race to ensure that all is going well with their product.

    “After the tires are mounted and distributed and handed over to the teams, our engineers are on pit lane during practice,” Fantozzi said. “As the vehicle has the opportunity to hop on pit lane, the tire temps are taken by the engineers.”

    “They have a thermometer, which is basically like a needle with an electronic gauge,” Fantozzi continued. “They will physically insert the needle into the tire and take that profile, record it and hand it to the driver.”

    “After practice, we check wear rates, check with the tire specialists and crew chiefs and drivers and get everybody’s feel on balance, wear rate and then we repeat that for each practice,” Fantozzi said. “During qualifying it’s the same sort of deal.”

    “And then during the race, we’re wandering up and down pit lane,” Fantozzi continued. “There’s probably ten of us on pit lane during the race event itself, working with the teams, monitoring and checking wear rates during the race.”

    “And then the whole cadence starts all over again.”

    Fantozzi knows all about that particular aspect of Goodyear’s role as that is how he started his career with the company and the sport.

    “I used to be one of the engineers on pit road poking the tires,” Fantozzi said.  “I started off with an engineering degree and came into the company as an engineer in motorsports.”

    “And I’ve been in almost every venue that we’ve ever competed in, whether it be drag or dirt sprint cars or Cup cars,” Fantozzi continued. “I’ve been all over the globe racing.”

    “The very first race I went to, I slept in a van as it rained for the Indianapolis 500,” Fantozzi said. “It’s always been in my blood.”

    “They say that if you can find a job that is your hobby, you do well,” Fantozzi continued. “There’s definitely a passion here for going fast and turning left.”

    So, what would the fans be most surprised to know about Goodyear? Probably two things according to Fantozzi, first the sheer volume of Goodyear’s involvement in the sport and second, just how seriously they take their partnership with NASCAR and its fans.

    “I don’t think people realize the number of bodies that we need to bring to the race track,” Fantozzi said. “At Atlanta, we went through almost 3,000 tires and had sixty folks on the ground every race.”

    “And it’s not just one race, it’s week after week,” Fantozzi continued. “There’s a tremendous amount of planning and discussion to make sure that the race comes off without a hitch.”

    “We need to make sure that things are done the right way because we know that our role in the sport is not just a sponsor role,” Fantozzi said. “It’s truly on the partnership level.”

    “It’s a long day for a team if an engine were to have a problem or if a team has a mistake on pit road,” Fantozzi continued. “But if we get it wrong, it’s a long day for everyone.”

    While all of the folks at Goodyear take their role in NASCAR very seriously, they also do their jobs with a great deal of passion and commitment.

    “We take a tremendous amount of pride, knowing the responsibility that we have to make sure the event comes off successfully,” Fantozzi said. “The return is knowing that the avid fan that watches the sport knows of our involvement and is more determined and likely to go out and buy a Goodyear consumer tire.”

    “We don’t like to boast,” Fantozzi continued. “We’re a humble bunch.”

    “But that pride in the brand and our product for the race fan is what it’s all about.”

     

  • Goodyear Pronounces New Tire Success at Atlanta and Ready for Kansas

    Goodyear Pronounces New Tire Success at Atlanta and Ready for Kansas

    This past weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Goodyear, the official tire of NASCAR, debuted a new tire technology utilizing multi-zone tread technology.

    And after several tests, as well as during the race with multiple green flag stops with no major issues, Goodyear has pronounced their new tire good.

    “Without question, the debut of our multi-zone tread technology at Atlanta was a success,” Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s Director of Racing, said. “The right-side tire, with the firmer, heat resistant compound on the inboard portion of the tire, and the more tractive compound on the outboard, enabled the cars to put on great races in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series.”

    “Certainly this confirms our plan to utilize this technology for the October ace weekend in Kansas, and actively evaluate its application at other tracks.”

    “I would agree that the new tire debut at Atlanta was a complete success,” Justin Fantozzi, Marketing Manager for Global Race Tires for Goodyear, said. “Folks here are very proud of the result.”

    While the technology is certainly different, the process of development for the new tire was different as well. With this new tire technology, the concept came from the passenger vehicle side to the racing venue, which is opposite of how most tire advances take place.

    “Normally, it is track to street but this was one of the technologies that was street to track,” Fantozzi said. “This technology was used in our triple tread passenger tires for dry, rain and snow.”

    “So, for the racing tires, the idea was to balance durability and heat versus grip and traction whereas on a consumer tire, it is all about the weather balance.”

    “Since we don’t race in the rain, we had to balance the durability and heat instead.”

    One of the other challenges for the new tire was to ensure that the zones where positioned where they needed to be.

    “You have to be very diligent that the zones go where you need them to go,” Fantozzi said. “But for us, that’s very simple because the yellow letters are only on one side of the tire and they are always facing out.”

    “So, we know exactly which zone has the firmer compound on it and which zone has the more tractive compound.”

    What most fans may not realize is that the development of this particular new tire technology has been two years in the making for Goodyear.

    “There isn’t a call center or an 800 number that the crew chiefs and drivers call to get to a customer service representative for the tires,” Fantozzi said. “We actually send our development team to the race track.”

    “There is a one-to-one relationship so that if someone has an issue at the race track, we get the feedback as we develop the tire,” Fantozzi continued. “At the same time, there are folks who don’t travel that are working on developing the new technology.”

    “So, that’s how it all started.”

    After the Goodyear scientists worked their magic in the lab, the tire actually was tested not just once but twice before showing up at Atlanta.

    “We brought it to the race track in a couple of tests,” Fantozzi said. “The first test was the development test, which was about 65 days ago.”

    “And then we felt that a change was enough that each and every team needed to feel it,” Fantozzi continued. “So, we went back to Atlanta with a confirmation test thirty days before the event.”

    “At the development test, we had one of each of the manufacturers there and at the confirmation test, we invited one of each one of the teams,” Fantozzi said. “So, we had 13 vehicles at the confirmation test.”

    “Then we were ready to take it to the track,” Fantozzi continued. “We had three fuel stops at Atlanta with no issues so everybody was pretty proud of that and we’ll continue the cadence on the development side and see where else the technology can fit and become a solution at the race track.”

    Goodyear also had the challenge of not only developing their new tire technology but also melding that into the new Gen 6 race car. And while Goodyear had to balance speed and safety, they also had to deal with a new challenge, heat.

    “The other part of it that we’ve seen with the new car is the heat,” Fantozzi said. ”And it doesn’t come in the traditional sense that the faster you go, the more heat you have.”

    “We’re seeing a lot of the heat not only in compartment where the tires are but in the race car itself,” Fantozzi continued. “So, the crew chiefs are balancing off the heat as well.”

    “That’s probably the biggest change with the car,” Fantozzi said. “It is different from a dynamic standpoint when the tires are able to seal off and there is no air flow through the tire compartment or in the car because that’s where the challenge comes.”

    Surprisingly, Goodyear did not have to bring extra personnel to the Atlanta Motor Speedway to assist with the new tire. But for Goodyear, they always come with an extensive cadre of staff and engineers, ready to assist with any and all tire issues that may occur.

    “We had a couple more engineers on site at Atlanta than we would normally have but not extreme,” Fantozzi said. “I think we had just one or two more folks.”

    “Because of the cadence we keep every weekend, with the mounters, changers and engineers and those on the business side of it, there can be sixty folks on the ground carrying the Goodyear banner,” Fantozzi continued. “So, we didn’t need to bring too many more folks.”

    “One of the guys that doesn’t travel but has worked eighteen or twenty-four months on the tire wanted to see it, so he came,” Fantozzi said. “It’s those type of folks who joined us in Atlanta.”

    While there were no doubt a few Goodyear nerves on pit road, all was dispelled after the race got underway.

    “You can test as much as you want to but at Atlanta, when we got through the first set of green flag stops, the confidence level went up with the assurance that what we had brought to the race track was proven,” Fantozzi said. “We were very, very happy with that first green flag run and then we ended up having another set and a third and that just led to even more confirmation.”

    “We have pride in what we bring to the race track.”

    Although Goodyear pronounced the new tire good, there were plenty of drivers and crew chiefs who concurred as well.

    “I think Goodyear did a good job there from my perspective,” Dave Rogers, winning Atlanta crew chief, said.

    “It ran pretty good for me,” Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Penske Ford, said. “Every time we had a pit stop Todd (Gordon, crew chief) came on the radio and said that the tires look good.”

    “It seemed like it was a pretty solid tire,” Logano continued. “It hung in strong and I thought it put on a good race.”

    Goodyear confirmed that it will next race the special zone-tread tires at Kansas Speedway.

    “We waited until after we got confirmation in Atlanta that the concept was valid,” Fantozzi said. “And so we’ll have a multi-zone tire, a different one, for the Kansas fall race.”

    “And that is in the cadence of development for 2014 and we have to get to the race track to get that balance and then see where else it will fit into the race events.”